• Underestimating Torture (Nordgren, Banas, & MacDonald): Participants were asked to evaluate the severity of specific interrogation techniques, like solitary confinement or cold rooms. Subjects who were currently experiencing a mild physical discomfort themselves (e.g., placing their arm in ice water or being in a cold room) rated those interrogation techniques as significantly more cruel and severe than subjects who were comfortable. The "comfortable" group could not empathetically bridge the gap to understand the distress of the physical state.

Summary of the Mechanism

The empirical data shows that our brains use a "anchoring and adjustment" heuristic. We use our current visceral state as an anchor. When we try to project what we will want or do in the future, we adjust away from that anchor, but we almost always under-adjust.